1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and system for containment and recovery of petroleum from a body of water. Particularly, this invention relates to a method and system of immediate response favoring environmental protection to be employed by a petroleum-transporting water vessel upon loss of said petroleum. More particularly, this invention relates to oil spill containment and recovery system equipment adapted for storage onboard said vessel. Most particularly, this invention relates to an oil spill containment and recovery system which recovery conveniently includes means for separation of recovered petroleum from the water and storage of said separated, recovered petroleum.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ever increasing demand for petroleum in countries which either do not have their own captive oil reserves or are unwilling to rely entirely on them has resulted in a transportation requirement for large volumes of petroleum over great distances from its source to its point of consumption which geography usually dictates to include some movement over one or more bodies of water. Likewise, this great demand for petroleum has led to technological advances permitting off-shore exploration to become a common practice. However, accidents happen, and leaks occur. The consequences of an in-transit spill by an oil transport water vessel or a leak from an off-shore exploration rig to the marine environment and that of its surrounding shores have been devastating. These consequences threaten not only the plant and animal life within this environment, but the seriousness of such consequences cause a re-evaluation of the "costs" of our reliance on petroleum as a fuel source. The result of such re-evaluation may even hasten a shift to reliance on nuclear, solar, and or electrical power for society's transportation needs, thus threatening the continued existence of the petroleum industry. Past failures by the petroleum industry to adequately respond to oil tanker spills by immediate containment and recovery measures in order to limit the environmental harm caused is a clear indication that the industry either does not recognize the threat to its existence or does not have the tools available with which to address the problem. Prior art methods and systems have not proven adequate.
Although according to the U.S. Coast Guard tanker accidents currently contribute only 5% of the estimated 2.3 million tons of petroleum hydrocarbons entering the seas each year -- down from 12.5% in 1985, the spills are acute, concentrated injections of oil, and they tend to galvanize public concern.
Immediate response requires equipment storage onboard the vessel which, in turn, necessitates means for compacting the equipment associated with a system for containing spilled oil. Recovery presents a separate challenge. Of course, both containment and recovery are facilitated by the lower density of oil (as compared to water) and the hydrophobic nature of petroleum.
As early as 1921, U.S. Pat. No. 1,397,891 described an "Oil Trap" which comprised means for securing a plurality of laterally moveable float members arranged end to end and a substantially vertically extending, flexible, liquid-impervious curtain connected to adjacent float members. This patent reference relates to containment only, as do: U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,151 which describes a "Boom for confining Material Floating on Water;" U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,923 which describes a "Method of Collecting Oil or Other Residues on the Waters of Ports and Elements for Carrying Out Same;" U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,036 which describes "Inflatable Floating Booms;" U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,589 which describes a "Floating Barrier;" U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,966 which describes a "System and Barrier for Containing an Oil Spill;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,962 which describes a "Cable Connector Assembly for Oil Containment Boom;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,755 which describes a "Reel Mountable Boom Arrangement;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,856 which describes a "Compactable, Foldable, Floatable, Boom-Fence to Quickly Control the Spread of Contaminates over Water Surfaces;" and recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,310 which describes a "Shipboard Environmental Barrier System and Method."
U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,679 purports to describe an "Apparatus to Confine and Recover Oil Spillage at Sea;" however, only a containment method is disclosed along with the statement that recovery is facilitated by the nature of oil not to mix with water and, by increasing the height of the oil layer on the water by "confining a certain surface area of the water and reducing it without allowing leaks," it can be pumped off.
Therefore, while the prior art offers alternative means for some onboard quick response to try to contain spilled oil, there is no teaching of quickly dealing with the contained oil. As the containment system equipment must be carried on the vessel, space limitations for such storage will restrict the volume of oil which can be contained. If the spill occurs in or near a port, land-based recovery equipment response may be adequate, but the same then may be said for off-ship containment means. Of course, since there is no convenient place for a spill to occur and since the prior art does not teach a method for immediate response to contain the spill with means for recovery, additional oil containment and recovery technology is required.